Oxygen to treat depression

By: Jadon Webb, M.D., Ph.D.

It is always a win to find safe, natural things to help with depression. Especially when other treatments don’t work or cause too many side effects. A new study found that breathing a little extra oxygen at night may be an effective treatment. This is so important since oxygen is usually very safe, and could potentially be combined with other treatments. 

In this study, subjects breathed 35% oxygen (instead of the usual 20% found in normal air) at night for 4 weeks. The oxygen can be produced from a concentrator and be given easily through a nasal cannula that can be taken home. 

We are very interested in the potential of oxygen as one of the new, safe treatments of depression, and are starting to offer it as an adjunctive treatment in certain cases. If you are interested in innovative help for depression, mention it to our providers. Meantime, high dose oxygen offers a totally unique approach to this complicated disorder, and we are thrilled to see these positive results make it to publication!

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